Condoms do not promote promiscuity

The pope is wrong to suggest that the use of condoms promotes promiscuity and HIV

The pope is wrong to suggest that the use of condoms promotes promiscuity and HIV Photo: MARINA IMPERI

By Max Pemberton

7:00AM GMT 23 Mar 2009

"Of course I do!" Katharine said, looking at me in amazement. "Everyone does." "Well", I began, rather timidly, "it's just that Catholics aren't supposed to use them". She looked at me pityingly and rolled her eyes. In fact, every single one of my Catholic friends admits to using or having used condoms. Katharine is in her late 20s, she has a successful career, a long-term boyfriend and is a practising Catholic. They use condoms because they don't want to have children yet, she can't take the pill for medical reasons and they are aware that the methods of contraception advocated by the Catholic Church are far from reliable.

I have known Katharine since childhood and in many ways she lives an exemplary Christian life. My mum is Catholic and I went to a Catholic Convent school so I am very aware of the theological and moral underpinnings to the Vatican's objection to condoms, just as Katharine is. We even had an outline of the Church's position stapled over the section on contraception in A-level biology texts books in our school library. For my Catholic friends, however, condom use is a sensible lifestyle choice and not a significant issue.

They see no problem with choosing to ignore the Vatican on this one topic. Nor do they see any reason to change now after the issue was reignited last week by the Pope's comments on the eve of his visit to Africa. Much of what Pope Benedict said was touching and thoughtful, filled with love and compassion. He called on Christians to speak up in the face of violence, poverty, hunger and corruption. He spoke of the continent's "painful wounds, its enormous potential and hopes". It is a shame that historic visit to Africa has been overshadowed by his comments on condoms, with even the EU issuing a rebuke to his statement. He was, of course, only reiterating the church's long-standing position, but there were two reasons why this caused such controversy.

Firstly, there is the symbolic nature of saying such a thing just before a tour of a continent so ravaged by HIV. Secondly, and this is where I take particular issue with his words, is the suggestion that condom distribution "risks aggravating" the HIV epidemic. This is categorically not true and risks inflaming an already fragile situation. There is considerable resistance from certain sections of African society - typically men - to using condoms. They see it as emasculating and unnecessary. Years of work have gone into trying to reduce the stigma attached to condom use in Africa, and while Catholics in the West, such as Katharine, are liberated and able freely to choose to adhere or ignore the Vatican's stance on condoms, this luxury is not afforded to those in Africa, particularly women.

HIV transmission routes are complex, particularly in a continent as vast as Africa. The lorry drivers who shift freight up and down the Trans-Africa highways significantly compound the problem. If they visit brothels or use prostitutes in the cities when away from home they are at high risk of HIV infection. On their return home they infect their unsuspecting wives. In a place where treatment is scarce and a diagnosis of HIV signals a death sentence, the stigma is such that many would rather not know their status. Those women who are breastfeeding or who fall pregnant then risk infecting their children. Whole families can be wiped out. Fidelity doesn't protect these women or their children.

Related Articles

Mass public health campaigns encouraging the widespread use of condoms as well as educational campaigns specifically targeting sex workers and migratory workers have seen the rates of transmission fall. Reports of rising HIV rates in some communities is usually due to improved access to HIV testing provided by aid workers, not to the use of the condoms they hand out. It is true that condoms are not the only way to tackle the HIV/Aids epidemic in Africa. Abstinence and fidelity, in an ideal world, would be enough to stop transmission. But we do not live in an ideal world and while the Holy See can propose ideological solutions, doctors, nurses and aid workers have to work in the real world and have to provide practical solutions and it's for this reason that they advocate condom use. The suggestion that the promotion of condom use also helps promote promiscuity and therefore spreads HIV is fundamentally wrong and risks undoing the considerable amount of work that has been done already to educate communities. Condom use is not the only answer, but it is, without doubt, part of it.

• 'Trust Me, I'm a Junior Doctor' by Max Pemberton is published by Hodder. To order a copy for just £11.99 + £1.25 p&p, call Telegraph Books on 0870 428 4112